God’ Song

Music, and singing, and the song have always been close to the heart of God. Some writers suggest that the Genesis story that begins, “And the earth was without form and void” could easily be interpreted “and God sang over it.” God has always been about singing. He chanted the stars into existence, and whistled the birds into the air, hummed in the background while the land was separated from the sea and burst into symphony as Adam rises up from the clay. Singing is interwoven through scripture. In the wilderness God gives Moses a song and tells Him to teach it to the children if Israel. “Great and mighty are your deeds o Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways. You delivered us from our enemies, you sustained us in the desert. Who shall not fear the Lord and glorify Your Name?”

At Jericho God tells Joshua to sing and play trumpets until the walls fall down. The psalmist says God has put a new song in my heart, a hymn of praise. And the prophet Isaiah says “I will sing for the one I love.” In fact the only time that God doesn’t sing is during the exile when the children of Israel hang their harps in the trees by the river and weep. Elizabeth sings at the birth of John the Baptist. Mary sings at the announcement that she is pregnant with the Messiah. Paul and Silas sing in the prison cell and John says in the Revelation that all creation sings around the throne. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, God Almighty who was and is and is to come.” God sings,

In my own story, God’s song is central. I was in a clinic in Scottsdale, AZ recovery from an addiction that nearly cost me everything. A nasty old “inmate” came and set next to me and said, “God gave me a verse for you. Zephaniah 3:17, ‘The Lord is mighty. He will deliver you. He delights in you and rejoices over you with singing.‘” Having said that, I have never actually heard God sing. I haven’t seen His lips move or literally heard the melody coming from His mouth. But I have heard His songs. Over and over again God has sent me a song at just the right time, usually in the form of a person.

My friend Robert is a song. He is country as can be. Can’t spell a lick. But he loves God and loves me and we have a blast together working on Mr. Tumbles or leading a marriage retreat. He has been an example to me of a live fully sold out to God. Every time Robert walks into the room…God sings.

My grandsons are God’s song to me. When Jakson (who is 2) runs up to me with his arms out saying, “PoppyC, can I hold you?” that is God singing. When Jon-Mical (all grown up at 5 now) says, “PoppyC, I’ll race you to the swing set,” God sings.

My sons, my daughter-in-law, so many friends and family, they are all God’s song. And of course my amazing wife who pats me on the arm and says, “I am so proud of you,” when she has no reason to be, she is God’s song.

If God is the master songwriter, and Christ is the divine singer, then you my friend, you are His song. Tomorrow I’ll write more about how that looks but for today the Word is this, God uses you to sing into the lives of so many people. You are His melody and His music. You are the notes of His song. Every kind word, every thoughtful deed, every moment of grace that comes from you is really a song from God. And in return, He sings over you.

I love the last scene from my favorite movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus. Mr. Holland wanted to be a musician, to write wonderful orchestra scores but instead he got stuck being a band director in a high school for 30 years where he was underpaid and under-appreciated. On the day he retired the community planned a secret pep rally in the school auditorium and played, in his honor, the orchestra piece, the opus, that he had been working on for years. One of his students had gone on to become the governor of the state. She introduced the symphony with these words; “Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor has it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn’t rich and he isn’t famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he has achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.”

On this day, my great desire is to be the song of God in someone’s life.

Loved this!! After I played at church yesterday morning, my pastor opened his sermon by telling a story about going to an orchestra concert. He said that when he went in to sit down and the orchestra was just warming up, screeches, squeaks, all of that, he began to wonder what he had gotten himself into. But the minute the conductor stepped on stage and began to conduct, he changed his mind. He mentioned that God is like the orchestra conductor and each of us Hs instruments, without Him directing our lives, we’re a mess. As soon as He steps onto the “podium” of our lives, everything changes as He turns chaos into beautiful music.

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Dr. Mike Courtney

I am a life long recoverer. I am seeking everyday to be a more devoted Christ follower, a more loving husband and father, and a better contributor to my part of the world. I am a life coach and counselor. I write. I speak to churches, retreats, men's groups. And I play with Jon-Mical and Jakson every chance I get. Doris and I live lives of quiet serenity in Middle Tennessee. We are blessed by God, graced by our daughters-in-law, made proud by our sons, and OWNED by our grandsons. View my complete profile